


The Test

by Sydbond



Series: Softer [9]
Category: The Brave (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-27 16:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14429475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sydbond/pseuds/Sydbond
Summary: ‘‘What’s wrong with me? ‘‘ she asks.McGuire takes a deep breath, but he doesn’t answer.





	The Test

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, this is the continuation of Softer. I have a bunch of ideas that aren't coming out in order so I will make this a series instead of a chaptered story.

‘‘Are you going on a run?” asks Amir. 

Joseph stills at the entry of the Quonset. ‘‘Yeah.”

‘‘Mind if I join you?”

He doesn’t mind running with Amir. He even likes constantly beating him. But he needs to be alone today. 

‘‘Actually I was thinking about a solitary run,” answers McGuire. 

Preach looks over his iPad, sharing the same quizzical look that is etched on Amir’s face. 

‘‘I need to think some things through, no offense.” Even to his own ears, he sounds weird. 

McGuire runs to a pharmacy that’s far enough from base that nobody can recognize him. He walks the aisles slowly, unwilling to ask for help. Finally, he ends up in front of them. 

The pregnancy tests. 

There are literally dozens of types and he really doesn’t know what he should be picking. His cheeks flame up and he stares at both sides of the aisle, making sure he’s alone. This is a hundred times more embarrassing than the time his mother made him go buy some feminine hygiene products when he was a teenager. 

How come the pregnancy tests are next to the condoms? It’s like some sort of fucked up karma crap. As if the drug store was saying: if you knew about protection you wouldn’t need those tiny overpriced pee sticks. He is not really sure what makes a pregnancy test better than the other so he grabs three different brands. He passes in front of prenatal vitamins and briefly considers buying a bottle before shaking his head. They’ll cross the bridge when they get there. If they get there. 

He does his best to appear nonchalant as the cashier who’s name tag says Ali scans them. Ali’s young, 17 at the most and he casts McG a sorry glance as he hands him the bag. 

‘‘Good luck,‘‘ he says and McGuire feels himself getting beet red. 

He quickly realizes he should have brought a bag of some sort because Amir is a champion at noticing hidden details and his eyes zoom on the pharmacy bag as soon as he gets back to the hut. 

‘‘Is this why you didn’t want me to join you on your run? ‘‘ he asks, badly hiding his smirk. 

‘‘No, I just remembered I needed a few things, ‘‘ he replies. He knows his excuse is feeble, but Amir lets him get away with it. 

‘‘Don’t you already have enough hair products? ‘‘ asks Jaz and it’s not long before the others join in on the ribbing. 

Back in his room, McG hides the bag in his clothes, praying he’s wrong. 

 

xxxxx

 

That night is one of the good ones, when they have some down time between assignments and they can relax as a team. Jaz usually likes to sit down with the guys, a beer ion hand as they talk smack, throwing horseshoes next to the fire pit, but lately her stomach revolts at the thought of beer. 

She laughs as McG gets thoroughly destroyed by Amir, enjoying her time. Top’s eyes keep settling on her and she smiles softly, wondering if they’ll manage to sneak into each other’s beds tonight. 

‘‘It’s incredible how bad at this you are, ‘‘ says Amir to McG, shaking his head. ‘‘I’ve been on this team for only one year, and yet I can still beat you every single time, ‘‘  
Jaz joins in the laughter before a sudden wave of nausea overcomes her. 

It’s stronger than she expected and she hurries down to the bathrooms. Her eyes stings as she empties her stomach, cursing under her breath. Fingers thread through her hair and she half-expects Adam to be the one kneeling next to her until she hears Joseph’s voice in her ear. 

‘‘Jazzy, ‘‘ he says and she blinks back tears. 

She lets out a sigh. This is getting really tedious. ‘‘What’s wrong with me? ‘‘ she asks. 

McGuire takes a deep breath, but he doesn’t answer. She stares at him, suddenly growing worried. 

‘‘Joe,” she starts. 

‘‘I think I know,” he says. McGuire reaches for her hand. Her eyes watch him anxiously. He clears his throat, uncomfortable. ‘‘How long has it been since you had your period? ‘‘  
To Jaz, it feels like time has stopped. She counts in her head and her heart starts to pound in her chest as she realizes that there has been way too many weeks since then.

‘‘I’m on the pill,” she whispers, but her eyes are huge and McGuire quickly catches on. They both know very well it can still happen.

‘‘How long?” he asks, more gently this time. 

‘‘Since Morocco,” she says. Her eyes close and tears spill from under her closed eyelids. ‘‘Oh God.” 

McG wraps his arms around her, resting his chin over the top of her head, doing his best to comfort her. It’s been three months since Morocco. Three months of her on the field, getting cut and burned and risking her life on a daily basis. Unknowingly risking two lives. 

‘‘I bought some tests, if you want to make sure,” he says after a bit. Jaz nods, eyes puffy. ‘‘Stay there.” 

He hurries to his room, returning with the pharmacy bag. 

‘‘It wasn’t hair products after all,” she says with a small smirk and he shakes his head. ‘‘Jeez, how many of those did you buy?”

They both stare at the three brightly colored boxes. ‘‘I didn’t exactly know what was good, so I bought a few,” he mumbles and Jaz lets out a small laugh. 

‘‘You want to do it?” he asks after a few seconds of silence. Jaz nods, solemn. ‘‘I’ll wait for you outside,” he says. He presses a kiss on her forehead, squeezing her fingers before getting out of the bathroom. McG closes the door tightly and leans against it. 

If she is pregnant, they are in for a world of trouble. She’ll have to be shipped back to the States and his heart aches at the thought of Jaz, single and alone. Apart from them, she doesn’t have any family and he knows she is strong, but stripping Jaz of her work and her guys seems cruel. Joseph has been raised by a single mother and he knows for a fact how difficult it can be. 

Not to mention that Top will be heartbroken. He’ll do anything for Jaz, but McG can’t imagine watching the girl you love growing big with someone else’s child.  
He waits ten minutes before he knocks on the door. ‘‘Can I come in?” he asks, and Jaz muffled yes comes through the door. 

The three tests are sitting facedown on the counter. Jaz is perched on the toilet seat, her arms wrapped around her legs, chin resting on her knees. She looks smaller than usual, fragile. 

‘‘I can’t look at them,” she says. 

‘‘Do you want me to?” 

McG locks the door as she nods. 

Two weeks after Morocco was Prague. They closed on their target in the middle of the afternoon and found themselves with a whole night to decompress. Jaz had disappeared somewhere and he hadn’t really thought about it since he had his hands full himself. 

If those tests come back positive they’ll have to track down some random guy she hooked up with in Prague. 

He flips them up and stares at the three tiny plus signs. 

‘‘Well?” she asks, but she already knows. 

‘‘Congrats,” he says in a low voice. 

 

xxxxx

 

‘‘Do you need me to… do anything?” They have been holed up in her room for an hour. She is strangely silent, staring into space. 

‘‘No,” she whispers. ‘‘I need to tell the father before anyone else.”

‘‘Shouldn’t you tell Top? ‘‘ 

She gives him a panicked glance and he raises his hands in surrender. ‘‘He’s your CO, Jazzy. And he can talk to Patricia, try to work something out for you.” Jaz nods into his shoulder ‘‘That is, if you want to have this baby.”

‘‘I’m keeping it,” she says and her hand absentmindedly goes to her stomach. 

In a few weeks it will be rounder, in few months everyone will notice. Joseph’s hand settles on her belly, soft fingers splaying over the cotton of her tank top before raising her chin.

‘‘Hey,” he says. ‘‘I’ll be there for you, whatever happens.”

 

xxxxx

 

It’s past midnight when her door creaks open. Jaz opens her eyes, finding Adam’s head peeking inside of her room. She glances at McG who fell asleep next to her and, satisfied with his snoring, carefully crawls out of bed. She follows Adam to his room, both of them careful not to make a sound. 

‘‘Is everything alright?” he asks.

‘‘Why do you ask?” she replies automatically, harsher than she wanted and Adam’s eyes cloud over.

‘‘McG is sleeping in your bed, which only happens when you’re sick or sad… so which is it?”‘

Jaz stops playing with his bedspread, taking a deep breath. ‘‘It’s not exactly that,” she says as she raises her eyes to his. She can tell Adam did not expect the night to unravel like this. A few hours ago, she too thought their night would end up a lot hotter and a lot less… weird.

‘‘What’s going on Jaz?” He stares at her with those blue eyes of his and, for a fleeting moment, she hopes this child of theirs will end up with them. 

‘‘Adam, I need to tell you something.” Worry is etched on her features and her eyes fill with tears. 

Adam folds her to his chest in such a loving way, she almost breaks. She is about to ruin both of their careers with three simple words. But he needs to know. 

‘‘Tell me what?” It's the softness of his voice that does it. Tears spill down her cheeks as she wraps her arms tighter around herself

‘‘I’m pregnant.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it!  
> There will be several other parts :p 
> 
> Like usual, SydBond on tumblr and bond_syd on twitter
> 
> comments are the way to my heart :)


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